Link belt cartridge loader



March 27, 1945. E. L. SMITH ETAL 2,372,399

I LINK BELT CARTRIDGE LOADER Filed July 24, 1945 6' Shets-Sheet l vINVENTOR lint/Flora; J/wfi/ A/vo BY CARA ro/v WEI-an v 7/u ORNEYS arch27, 1945.

E. L. SMITH ETAL LINK BELT CARTRIDGE LOADER Filed July 24, 1943 6Sheets-Sheet 2 5% Q \N g INVENTORS Zip/50.13am Jn/r/um BY CARA my M-rsa9 -71 44 ORNEYS Mam}! 1945- E. L.. SMITH ET AL LINK BELT CARTRIDGELOADER e Sheets-Sheet s Filed July 24, 1943 o 5% J W Va. 0 w 0 Z meMarch 27, 1945.

E. L. SMITH ET AL LINK BELT CARTRIDGE LOADER Filed July 24, 1945 6Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORJ 21 M5? Zora; J/V/f/l A/YD arch 1945- E. 1..SMITH ETAL LINK BELT, CARTRIDGE LOADER Filed July 24, 1943 6Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTORJ fl/wmloraz 'JM/M Ali/Q ram Mme;

I TTORNEYS BY Cm;

Patented Mar. 27, 1945 2,372,399 I LINK BELT CARTRIDGE LOADER ElmerLovell Smith, Longmeadow, and Carlton Wetsel, Springfield, Massassignors to Package Machinery Company, Springfield, Mass, a corporationof Massachusetts Application July 24, 1943, Serial No. 496,006 3 1Claim.

This invention relates to a machine for loading cartridges into acarrying belt or chain for machine guns. The object of the invention isto provide a mechanism which will take separate chain links from amagazine, assemble them in chain form, and insert cartridges throughtheir aligned pintle holes to act as pintles and serve cartridges arepushed forward in timed relation with said links, which have beenaccurately spaced and aligned at said assembly station, for the entranceof said cartridges through said links, thus forming the pintles which,combined, make up the desired form of cartridge link-belt for use inmachine guns or the like. This machine is unique in another manner inthat it is comparatively small and of light weight and is provided withhandles which enable it to be carried to any place where it is needed.Another feature is the provision made for using a hand crank foremergency operation of the machine should the source of power for normaloperation fail or not be available at all. A more detailed descriptionof the construction and operation of the machine will be found in theaccompanying specification and claim in which,

Fig. 1 is a front end view showing the relation of the link andcartridge chutes to the assembly station where the links and.cartridgesare assembled and moved out of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a right side view of Fig. 1 showing the cartridge chute brokenaway for clearnessy Fig. 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2illustrating the construction of the geneva and its driving crank;

Fig. 4 is a top plan of the machine with the link and cartridge chutesomitted for the purpose of showing the relation of the cartridge pusherto the assembly station;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged central longitudinal section through the cartridgepusher and assemblycartridges by the three sections of the assemblywheel, with certain parts broken away; I

Fig. 8 shows two of a multiple of cartridges, after assembly by thimachine, properly placed within the links of a long link-belt or chain;and

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the release clutch for the overload releasemechanism.

This machine has a comparatively small base 1 upon which is mounted theentire mechanism. Handles 2 are conveniently cast integral with saidbase at each end for ease in carrying the entire machine. A motor 3drives the machine when power is available but means have been providedfor operating the machine by the ordinary handwheel 5 shown on thedrawings, should the power supply fail or not be available.

The motor 3 is provided with a standard make variable drive pulley 6which drives a larger pulley 1 by a belt 8. Said driven pulley l issupported on one end of the main drive shaft IO suitably mounted inbearings H and 12 contained in brackets 13 and I4 respectively, whichare mounted on base I. A bevel gear l6 on one end of said drive shaft I0meshes with another bevel gear I! mounted upon the end of a shaft 20journaled in a bearing 2! integral with bracket 22 also mounted on baseI. At the front end of said shaft 20 is normally secured a hand wheel 5as shown in Fig. 4, when the machine is power driven. y removing thehand wheel 5 and replacing it with a hand crank 4, Fig. l, the driveshaft It can be hand driven through said bevel gearing in case ofemergency. Pinned to continuously rotating shaft I0 is a pinion gear 25constantly in mesh with a larger gear 26 loosely mounted upon a shaft30. Shaft 30 is journaled in lowermost bearings in said brackets l3 andM respectively and also has keyed to it, between said brackets, astandard multiple disc clutch 33 for engaging said shaft 33 withcontinuously rotating gear 26, the hub of which contains the multiple(11505 of said clutch. By moving clutch lever 35 from dis-- engaged fullline position shown in Fig. 2 to its dotted line position, clutch 33becomes engaged and drives shaft 30 which causes the machine to operate.

An overload release is mounted on the outer end of shaft Ili. A drivingring 40 is secured to pulley l and has, engaged in a driving notch insaid ring, a roll 4| mounted on the end of abell crank 42. Bell crank 42is carried by a driving member 43, Fig. 2, said member being pinned tothe extreme end of shaft I0. A spring 44 on each side of bell crank 52has one end secured'to a pin extending from an ear 45 extending fromeach the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2, which places itcomparatively close to the lower "end of bell crank 42 (Fig. 2). Shouldanything happen during the normal operation of the machine to cause anypart of the mechanism-to-ja-m or-become inoperative, roll 4| will becamm'ed out of its driving notch in ring 40 and cause bell crank" 42 topush lever 50 back to its full lineposition shown in Fig. 2,automatically disengaging said clutch 33 and stopping the machine so theoper-' ator can correctthe trouble,

A bevel gear 55 secured to one end-of, driven shaft 30 .(Figs. 2 and 4)drives another bevel gear 56 which is secured to a vertical shaft51.Shaft 51 is journaled top and bottomin bearings extending from bracket60 mounted on base I. Above the uppermost bearing on said bracket Eli,and at the top end of said shaft 51, ispinned a crank member 65. A link66 extendsfrom crank 55 to the pusher slidemember 61 for oscillatingsaid slide back and forth in ways 68.,suitably secured tobrackets 69 andIll mounted on base I which accurately guide said ,pusher during itstravel. The pusher pushes the cartridges from the hopper into the linksto make up the desired; link-belt or chain and reciprocates backand fortas long as the machine is in operation.

A jogger mechanism is located in the lower end of the link chute I aswill be described below. Its purpose is to make certain that the linksare nestled closely with each other when they are rive at the assemblystation for being'assembled:

with the cartridges. As they fallby gravity, past said jogger they arerapidly but gentlytapped on their edges so as to cause them tojseektheir properinterlocked position and be ready. to receive iheirrespective cartridges, as best shown in Fig. 7 V

The links that makeup the cartridge link-belt each consist of threeloops or rings all of which.

obstruction consisting of two small blocks I8, as best seen in Figs. 1and 2, is placed within the chute, one opposite the other, so that justthe smallest portion of the link designated as A will be able to passbetween them. Head portion C of the links must be placed at the top asthey are deposited inside the chute.

To operate the aforesaid jogger mechanism for properly aligning andnesting the links while in the link chute, a cam 80 is attached to theunder side of crank member 65 for continuous rotation.

' tion through said links ofthe cartridges b tes are formed out of thesame piece of metal as shown by the drawings. These links must be placedin the link chute 75 in a certain manner- Said links being placed intothe chute in this manner may be noted as sliding down fffeet first. Inthis phrase loops A and B constitute the feet, and loop C the head.(Fig, 2).. Loop A i the smallest of the three in diameter andhas aflanged portion F against which the shoulderof the cartridge comes torest when assembled. ,Loop

B is axially in line with loop A and the cartridge shell fits snuglyinside both loops A and Bwhenit is in its proper place. Loop 0 isslightly larger than the cartridge shell andis located between and, atthe same time, above loops A and B so that as the links fall down thelink chute 'I5 it is necessary tohave loop's A and B of one linkstraddle loop C of the next; that that, when thecar-j. tridge is pushedintoplaceas in Figs. 5 and 8,

said loop C will connect the links. together through the use of thecartridge as a pintle, as best shown in Fig. 8. i i i To makecertainthatthelinks willno-tbe inserted in the link chute in a turnedoverp'osition t p enfi v es es de ihe c ute. an.

Agitating' members 8| and 82 are supported on levers 83 and 84respectively. Said levers are pivoted at 85 for oscillation by cam 88. Aroll Biiycarried on a bell crank 81 which is pivoted at 88".. runsagainstsaid cam 80. A rod 89, secured tothe 'othe'r'end' of bell crank81 is oscillated rapidly; by'the action of cam 80 on the roll 86, saidroll .being held against said cam by a spring 90 '(Fig. 4) secured tobracket III at 9| and to an adjustable clamp 92 onsaid recite... Rodfili is beveled on the end as at 93. so as to fit into, a

socket 95 on lever 8 4 (Fig. 2);. Another spring 96,

supported fIOlTlja pin on link chute I5 is secured to aniear 91 onlever83. Said lever 83, being; pivoted at B5, is continually beingurgedbysaid spring 96 against a rubber washer 88, on a con; necting rod99 located between th e two levers 83 and 84 respectively. J Anotherrubber washer I06, bears against lever 8 4 which is pivoted at 85 andvcontinually urges member 82 towardsthe center of the link chute whilethe lower end of said lever 84 upon which is mounted the socket 95 for.re;

ceiving the beveled end of rod 89 isbeing ca tinually urged toward theendfof the 'sai'd oscillating rod 89 by the spring 96, thuscausingaquick and yieldable assembly. between thej'jogg'er mechanism and theoscillating rod I39v that con] tinually operatesit while themachi'ne 'isi'n: op?

eration.

The cartridges and the links arrive simultane ously'at an assemblystation 'where they are as sembled into aso-c'alled link-beltor chain. A

pocket'wheel,"made' up of threesections, receives the links and alignsthem properly Iorthe iriser aforementioned oscillating pusher. Eachforward stroke of fthe pusher pushes a cartridge through a pocket in thewheel and through'a pair of'properly aligned links. During the returnstroke of" said" pusher, the pocket 'wheelassembly' unit must berotatedso as to" receive the next cartridge being pushed by the pusher on itsnext forward stroke. To accomplish this said'pocket assembly" wheel isrotated'intermittently in timed relation with said pusher.

The three sections which comprise said pocket assembly wheel arereferredto in general as 1051' Said assembly I05'iskeyed to its supportingtianddriveshaft I06, Figs. 2, 4 and 5. Said sha'ftl'US is suitablysupported-inbearings in brackets"!!! and I3 respectively and isintermittently rotated by a well known Geneva mechanism. The segmentI0850f. said Genevaimechanism' is mounted on the extreme end of. shaft;,I [iii-with the pocket wheel assembly, unit I05 mounted on theopposite end. Continuously rotating shaft 30 has the Geneva crank I I0pinned to it..v Said ,cran'kcarries a roll I I2 which rotates inthedirection of the,

arrow, Fig. 3, and said roll enters slots I Min Geneva segment I08 andcauses shaftlflfii 'to'be driven intermittently, inv the direction ofthe arrow. Shaft 30,exte nds past thecrankflportion I I0 ,and serves asa Geneva locking. means, Figs;

2 and 3, while a cartridgeis being pushed through the previouslymentioned aligned links. Said shaft 30 is milled out at II to allowsegment I08 to turn as soon as roll H2 enters another slot H4.-

I As previously stated, this machine consists of a cartridge chute I onone hand, and alink chute I5 on the other, referring particularly toFig. 1. Said chutes merge at one central spot which is vertically inline with the delivery end of the cartridge chute and horizontally inline with the delivery end of the link chute respectively. This centralspot is the assembly station where said links and cartridges areassembled into a link-belt or chain. A door I23 is provided in thedelivery end of the cartridge chute for inspection or correction of anytrouble occurring there.

The link chute consists of two side members I25 and a bottom member I26.Two openly spaced top members I21 confine said links to said chuteduring their downward travel. The cartridge chute (Fig. 1) consists ofan open-top trough I28 which slants gently toward a vertical portion I29which is directly above the pusher slide and where the cartridges areconfined prior to their advance by the pusher into their proper positionwithin said links.

Referring to Fig. 7, the links are shown approaching the assembly wheel,being guided by the same wheel, and after being assembled withcartridges, being delivered from the machine in the direction of thearrows. This View shows how the connecting loops C are axially in linewith the cartridge supporting loops A and B as said loops are confinedand guided by the teeth of the two outside sections I30 and I3I of thepocket wheel I05, and made ready to receive the cartridge. The insidesection I 32 of the pocket wheel supports and guides the B and C loopsof the links and also the cartridges.

The outside of the flanged portion F of the loop A of each link restsinside and against the beveled portion I35 of the section I3I. Ahold-down member I3'I has its lower and inner edge beveledcorrespondingly as at I38 to further guide said flanged portion of loopA and hold it down in perfect alignment while the cartridge is beingpushed into its proper position by the pusher until the shoulder S ofthe cartridge rests firmly against the inside of the flanged portion ofloop A of the link, as best shown in Fig. 5. Here the pusher is nowready-to return and the cartridges K will fall one by one to theposition shown by dot-dash lines and then be pushed within the loops oftheir respective links for assembly as before.

The end of the pusher has extended portions I40 on member I42 whichconfine the cartridge, by its flange, to a straight forward travel as itis pushed into the links. A cut-away portion MI in the center, preventsthe pusher from firing the cartridge. This same member I42 extends back-,ward the full length of the cartridge (Fig. 5) and is slightly recessedat I43 for the cartridges to center themselves on during the pushersforward and return stroke. This member I42 may be removed and replacedby a new one when it becomes worn. A stationary insert M5 is providedfor the cartridges to fall onto in front of the oncoming pusher and ispreferably made of some rechannel. These guides are made up of one widemember I5I and two narrower pieces I52 all three of which are removablefor inspection or maintenance of the discharge channel when necessary.The forward end of the main guide member I5I is slotted to straddle apin I53 which is mounted on a cross rod I 54 secured between the sidemembers I25 of the link chute. A concave recess I55 in the end of memberI5I is provided to receive a spring pressed convex button I50 whichholds the entire guide members in their proper place as the two narrowermembersl52 are secured to the main piece I5I for removal as a unit. Bygrasping the knurled spring tension adjusting knob I60 and pulling it tothe left as shown in Fig. 7, button I56 will be cammed over curvedsurface I6I while pin I53 moves through the slot I35 to release theupper end of said linkbelt guide member. By raising latch member I10which is pivoted at I1 I, the entire guide assembly may be quicklyremoved by pulling it off the stem I I2. Link guiding member I 31 issecured by a bolt I13 to the main guide member I5I and is thereforereadily removed with the guide as sembly.

Said member I31 is adjustable by set screw I14 and lock nut I I5. Setscrew I14 bears against the stationary pivot stud Ill and may beadjusted to obtain the necessary adjustment of member I3I's beveledsurface at the assembly station, as shown in Fig. 5, for the correctcontrol of the flanged portion of loop A of the links to bear against,while the cartridge is being pushed through same by the pusher whichactually requires a substantial push by said pusher to accomplish this.

The pusher stroke is fixed and therefore leaves the rim of the cartridgein a determined position (Fig. 5). In order to make sure that theshoulders of the cartridges rest firmly against the flanged portion F ofthe link-loop A, shims I18 are provided between the second and thirdsections I3I and I32 respectively of the assembly wheel I05 which may beremoved or inserted to accomplish this result. Front section I30 of theassembly wheel guides the cartridges by their shell to align themcentrally with the beveled surfaces of the links as they rest againstholddown member I31 and surfaces I35 of the assembly wheel section I3 IAn extreme outer guidewhile said cartridges actually form the necessaryI pintles for such a chain, as can be clearly seen from the drawings.

To maintain a high rate of production with this machine, the operatorneeds only to properly fill the link chute and the cartridge chute andkeep them both filled and the necessary link-belt or chain will beproduced rapidly. By operating this machine with the hand crankprovided, instead of by power, a fairly high rate of production may beachieved also.

What we claim is:

Mechanism for assembling cartridges and links into a link belt whereineach link comprises a center loop and two straddle loops adapted foralignment with the center loop of an adjacent link, one of said straddleloops having a tapered serted throughzsaid aligned '1o0ps saidmechannismcomprising. ,in'. combination-in moving;.-.can-.-

rier V oi severalsections each: possessing -,.a; .p1u1-- rality ofpockets therein, the correspondingspocks e125 of each sectionbeingdniali'gnment; ithei pockeets 0f the first section eaohzbeing.shaped; tomeceive the frontend of a cartridge shell; the-pooh etsv ofthe second section each: being beveledi-to receive and confine thetapered flangeof a strod dle 100p of-a link, and. the pockets-of thethi-rd section each 1 being :shaped 170: receive the other straddle loopof said link together -with the centenxioopi ofx aniadjacentf1ink;;-:.8,;: stationary" .;ho1d: down. member positioned: above. saidbeveled carrienbeing movable to present itspockets-z suc-. cessively atvan: assembling station, and meansfor inserting cartridges successivelythroughathe loops-of the links 50 positioned.

EIMER; LOVELL SMITH}; CARLTON WETSEL.'

